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A good way to get Boobaby to eat is to sequester her food inside a container she’s never had to open before. Maybe it’s got a screw top, or I’ll cover a normal plastic container with shrink wrap: only making getting to her food a little more challenging will entice her to bother. Otherwise, it’s off to learning other new skills: surfing on the rocking chair, for example, or reprogramming the VCR.

At 20 months, Boobaby loves novelty and challenge. I both blame myself and am proud: I also see my job as encouraging Boo to push her limits as far as she wants. Sure, I need her to learn rules, too, but I when I can, I encourage her thirst to bend ‘em.

Sadly, that’s how she got the fat lip.

Boobaby has discovered of late that swings can be used more creatively than in the traditional “sit-on-top” method. There’s the ever popular side side-straddle, for example. Or you can load sticks and rocks into the baby swing saddles and push them, or use the high toddler swing as a trapeze. And don’t forget Boo’s absolute favorite: the “Belly Blastoff.”

By herself, Boobaby can perch belly-down on the swing and push off with her feet pretty well. For the Belly Blastoff to be really exhilarating, though, she must enlist daddy for extra thrust. I hold her legs, count to three, yell “Blastoff!”, and off goes Boobaby, cackling with pure daredevil glory. “Higher!” she cajoles after every ride. “Higher, higher!”

So it was the other day on our tenth Belly Blastoff. Boo was holding on well and enjoying herself. So at her urging, I went higher. And, at the height of her swing on that last fateful ride, I asked her “After this, do you want to go look for bugs?”

“Bugs?” Boobaby bemusedly glanced over to the bug-laden lawn and shouted “Bugs!” in agreement. The effort distracted her just long enough to allow the swing to slip from her grasp, her momentum carrying her flying into the air unsupported. Aghast, I watched as Boo careened to the ground, proud despite my terror that she caught herself with her arms and rolled into the fall.

Needless to say, she cried desperately at the surprise and pain. Despite the soft rubber surface of our playground, she emerged with scratches on her face and nose and a fat lip. And no one needs to tell me that it could easily have been worse — a concussion or broken bone, easily. So why risk letting Boo attempt such feats of derring-do? What benefit could possibly outweigh the potential hazards?

The answer to that question, I’ve come to believe, is self-confidence. As much as any kid her age I know, Boo is aware of her body and knows what it can do and what it can’t. She may climb on top of tables and run down rocky trails, but she knows her limits and up to now is always sure-footed.

If an activity requires an adult level of concentration to keep it from becoming dangerous, it’s probably inappropriate for a not-quite-two-year old. At the same time, I don’t want to shelter Boo from physical challenges just because they might be a little beyond her. Some parents were appalled when I did barrel rolls and somersaults with Boo as soon as she was crawling. Now she loves to tumble and their kids are tentative about any new physical skills.

Within five minutes of her crash from the swings and before I could even clean the blood off her scratched and bruised face, Boo was happily digging for worms and millipedes. Later that same day, she asked again for “Blastoff! Blastoff!” and wanted to go even higher even as I maneuvered myself subtly closer to monitor her grip just a bit.

I hope that Boobaby never loses all of her toddler’s fearlessness but even more, I hope I never lose my nerve and try to pull her back from her intrepid experimentation. She seems to have vast reservoirs of courage; maybe I can borrow some or hers.

by Doodaddy

[tags]kids, children, parents, risks, self-confidence, fear, safety[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by jurvetson, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved